WAR Open Beta starts Sept. 7th – NDA down TOMORROW!

EA announced that the Warhammer Online beta begins September 7th which came as a slight surprise to me. I was expecting Open Beta to arrive around the time that the NDA was ‘loosely’ scheduled to drop. At E3 Mythic made it really clear that the NDA would be dropping around the 15th While there is still time for the NDA to drop, I’m starting to think that perhaps Mythic will wait a little longer. Mark Jacobs has been talking about how there are three things on his list that he wants the team to finish, fix, or address before the NDA comes down. I believe that I know what two of those are and would completely understand the NDA remaining up until they are off Mythic’s list.

Mark Jacobs made a statement that has almost ascended to the rank of scripture among rabid WAR fans:

“As I’ve said before, my system for judging a company’s confidence in its product is based on how early the NDA is lifted. I give the game one point for every week before launch that the NDA is lifted. A score of 1 or less means big trouble, 2-4 is okay but not great, 4-8 is good to great and anything higher than that is nirvana….

Mark”

If Mythic waits until September 7th before lifting the NDA then they would fall under the “okay but not great” category. If they lifted the NDA today then they’ll fall under the “good to great” category. Food for thought.

Although the open beta won’t begin until Sept. 7th I’m still holding out for the NDA to drop within the next few days. I think Mythic will take the plunge and let the game speak for itself. It’s more than capable of speaking for itself at this point. That was clear to me at E3 when I saw the game.

At least this gives me a few more days at least to get my videos done for you guys and begin on my writeups. 😀

Update #1: Mark Jacobs just posted on the WAR Vault network a huge post clarifying a lot of things including:

  • NDA Drops tomorrow morning
  • OB is 1 week long, they wish it could have been longer
  • OB Client will be on FILEPLANET but you DO NOT have to be a subscriber
  • Mythic Patcher will be used once the game goes live to update the game – NOT bittorrents
  • Closed beta participants get patched into Open Beta – no need to download.


Solid list of updates! I’m very pleased that Mark clarified these issues. Now that I know the NDA drops tomorrow morning… I have a lot of work to do! Check back all day tomorrow for lots of updates!

  • Bahhhh! I was really hoping OB would start early this week. Even if they release the NDA, is it normal that the OB begins aprox 1 week before the early start? Or is there a possiblily of a launch push back. I have no problem with pushing back the launch if it’s not ready.

  • Launch is not being pushed back. It’s pretty common for a small/short open beta these days. Rarely are open beta’s truly a “hey everyone come try our game for free” opportunity anymore. They’re just a closed beta stress test in my eyes.

    The NDA comes down tomorrow though. I updated the blog entry to reflect that.

  • btw, excellent updates. Keep up the great work on this site. I don’t even bother checking anywhere but here.

  • Bah! one week 😛 Means its not worth downloading almost. Maybe I should just wait and install from dvd instead of spending a day downloading. However I am excited to hear from you starting tomorrow about all the juicy goodness of WAR 🙂 Glad they are dropping the NDA.

  • It’s pretty obvious that OB is really seen more as a marketing promo than an actual testing phase. When you consider all the testing that has been done to date – a one week OB is virtually insignificant for testing feedback. The only thing that will be tested is the typical “stress test” on server.

  • Hey keen any idea if this is like that AOC headstart or is it just come try our game then when it drops u decide to buy it or not?

  • The headstart for WAR will be like the headstart for AoC. If you pre-ordered the game you were given a code that you enter into your account and it will give you access to the game a few days early (4 for the CE, 3 for the SE I believe).

    There is also the Open Beta which is more of a stress test and a preview weekend which I believe will also be more like open beta and be available for those who pre-ordered.

  • Cool thanks for the info im very much looking forward to this game after AOC lol i need a game that will keep intrest for more than a week. hopfuly ill see u guyz around

  • Well, I can’t for the life of me see where Mark says anything about current beta testers not having to download this OB client. Did he post a reply somewhere to that effect?

  • Page 2 of that vault thread Mark says he is 99% sure. And it was posted in another location as well that you should be able to read if you’ve been a closed beta tester. 😉

  • It’s almost like a game in itself to try and download the client right now haha. Amazing the amount of traffic they are getting considering the beta doesn’t start until the 7th.

  • If WAR does not live up to the hype, I will never love again.

    I’ve been hurt too many times.

  • Keen, I am counting on you to address the ONE HUGE FLIPPING PROBLEM with the game once the NDA drops.

    Actually, I hope Mythic addresses it first, but they haven’t yet, so… *sigh*

  • Tomorrow, huh? I’m amped. I don’t think I can even sit in my chair anymore. The moment of truth it right around the corner!

  • Please tell me you have some character creation footage, dark elves would be awesome. Hoping to find some RvR Sorceress vids aswell, not much of that around.

  • Also, are the racial mounts our only options? For example, can a Dark Elf only acquire a lizard type of permanent mount, never a horse?

  • Thank god for a decent alternative to bittorrent. I’m convinced my ISP throttles p2p sharing. After 3-4 miserable days and just 40% completion, I gave up to wait for something that’ll let me connect and dl at decent speeds.

  • I have to say that WAR has won and I’ve broken down and pre ordered. Being in Canada sucks though for preordering as it’s hard to get it from an online shop/ I have zero time to make it to the mall any time soon to visit my local EBgames so I’ve broken down and used the EA Store. BTW the EA store blows giant ass and I have yet to receive any of my pre order goodies. And I’m still not sure if my game will arrive on time or I’ll be late due to living north of the border. Any idea on this guys I usually stop by EB and get the actual pre order box so I’m a newb at the online EA store type pre ordering thing.

    This site has had a heavy hand in the persuasion so kudos to Keen and Graev for their awesome blog and I look forward to the threads after WAR has launched to see what other ins these two have! See you guys on the fields of WAR – Qelln soon to be High Elf Archmage and excited as hell to see a character with KEEN above it and through some flashy shit at it 🙂

  • @Qelln: I don’t have experience with the EA Store but I know a lot of people did not receive their codes for up to 24 hours. If you don’t get them by then definitely send an email and request an update on when you’ll receive the codes.

    I’m glad we could be of assistance in your decision to try the game! I highly recommend you check back tomorrow when we’ll be able to spill the beans on all our experiences both positive and negative in WAR. Sharing our experiences with others and giving our thoughts on the games we play is our #1 reason for blogging. We aim to keep the gaming community truly informed.

    Oh, and my goblin eats archmage faces.

  • Mind you, in some parts of the world, tomorrow comes a little early…

    Let’s hear some spoilers from the UK tonight!

  • @ Sphexish

    yep,I`m already tomorrow past 7 hours and i`ll have to wait for may be another 5 to 6 hours before the NDA drop.

    I`m in Mauritius Indian Ocean ^_ ^

  • In defense of the EA Store, I pre-ordered the SE with them and have had zero problems. I received my codes during the time that had been specified on the Herald, and everything worked without issue.

  • @Logas: No, not past midnight. When Mythic says “The NDA is lifted” or something to that effect. They can still delay it if they want to.

  • Good to know that EA Store works, can’t blame me for being impatient though 😛

    I’m looking forward to tomorrow to get all the goodies!

  • Somebody that is playing or played can say that WAR will give more fun than wow, or is going to happen something similar like AOC????

  • @Marcus: Your question makes little sense but…

    AoC – It won’t be like it, you won’t crash every 5min, you won’t beta test game 3 months after live release, end-game is in game and being tested.

    WoW – WAR offer different end-game than WoW. If you miss world PvP and big battles in WoW and like smaller PvE dungeons you will like WAR more. If you love raiding and arena WoW is for you. I’ll most likely switch between both when I got bored with one and content patch will be months away still (like Blizzard like to release big patches every 6 months while they should every 3).

  • @Fugazi
    The standard pve dungeons arent actually smaller than wows, in fact the one I really know well is as big if not bigger than most end game 5 mans in WoW. However, there wont be the raid end game dungeons. So if by smaller, you meant.. less people need to be in to complete, yes you’re right. But not by pure size in standard one group dungeons.

  • @Marcus

    I find WAR much more fun, quicker, than WoW was. In WAR you can do the fun start RIGHT OFF THE BAT. Level 5 PvP? You bet. Public quest? Yup. Level 12 Keep Siege…Yup.

    Now a word about healing mechanics in the game….

    Maybe i’ll wait until I get the word that its down.

  • yay just got my pre order cant wait to hear some of the badass stuff from u guyz about the game im giddy like a school girl for this game

  • Has the NDA dropped yet? I can’t access game sites from work, so I can’t find out . . .

  • Nope the NDA is not down yet. I have a huge post ready to go, movies, screenshots, and ChaosCast #5 just waiting to be uploaded. 😛

  • If it doesn’t drop soon I’ll be leaving to go see Clone Wars. I’ll have to post all my stuff up when I get back.

  • Yeah, starting to get late here in Sweden. Would be awesome to get some info before bed time. Though I guess then I won’t be able to sleep 🙂

  • Lol – NDA is down and not a single rss from the WAR blogs on my list has pushed thru to my blog aggregator yet. POST DARN YOU, POST! 😛

  • NDA is down so I’ll give my quick two cents.

    I’ve been in beta for a few months now. My background is typically a pure PvE player. I’ve been a guild leader for tier 1 raids in Everquest 1 and WoW. I’m now married with a daughter and my time is much more limited than it used to be.

    Right away I can tell you the game supports casual players as well as hardcore. I was hesitant about PvP but.. it’s AWESOME! I’m having some of the most fun I’ve *EVER* had in a game. I cannot stress that more. This is one of the best game experiences ever created.

    The game is very polished this close to release. There are still some balancing issues that need addressed (with 3.4 patch hopefully coming this week).

    Nearly every class appeals to me. I’ve tried just about all of them. Each class has fun and unique mechanics that make them stand out from others.

    Public Quests are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They are absolutely fun. The changes to the reward system recently have made them even better.

    Only had a minute but I just wanted to state – BUY THIS GAME! You will not be dissapointed.

  • OMG can anyone call the theater, they need to grab Keen and bring him back in front of his pc…

  • You know, one of the things that’s been troubling me, after a week in the CB, is… is the whole darned game set at night time? is it ever daytime in WAR? Is there a sun? After spending 5 hours playing, I have to go sit under a sun-lamp so I don’t get Seasonal Affective Disorder. WTB SUN! Bring on the daylight!

    *sings in best Annie impression*

    The sun will come out, tomorrow
    Bet your bottom dollar
    That tomorrow, there’ll be sun
    Jus’ thinkin’ about, tomorrow
    Clears away the cobwebs and the sorrow
    ’til there’s none

    When i’m stuck with the day that’s gray and lonely
    I just stick out my chin and grin and say, ohhh

    The sun will come out, tomorrow
    So you gotta hang on ’til tomorrow
    Come what may…

    Tomorrow, tomorrow
    I love ya, tomorrow
    You’re always a day away

    The sun will come out, tomorrow
    So you gotta hang on ’til tomorrow
    Come what may…

    Tomorrow, tomorrow
    I love ya, tomorrow
    You’re always a day a–way!